יכול

Hebrew

Etymology

Possibly cognate with Arabic وَكَلَ (wakala, “to trust”), also found in Akkadian and Ethiopic, from Proto-Semitic *wakal-. Alternatively, Huehnergard and Olyan propose k-h-l as the proto-root.[1]

Root
י־כ־ל (y-k-l)
2 terms

Pronunciation

  • (Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA(key): /jaˈχol/
  • Audio:(file)

Verb

יכול / יָכֹל • (yakhól) (pa'al construction)

  1. can, to be able to

Usage notes

  • הָיָה (hayá, “was”) is commonly added to the third-person singular past tense to differentiate it from the present tense: היה יכול / הָיָה יָכֹל (hayá yakhól) or יכול היה / יָכֹל הָיָה (yakhól hayá).

Conjugation

Inflection of יכול
non-finite forms to-infinitive לִהְיוֹת יָכוֹל
finite forms singular plural
m f m f
past first יכולתי \ יָכֹלְתִּי יכולנו \ יָכֹלְנוּ
second יכולת \ יָכֹלְתָּ יכולת \ יָכֹלְתְּ יכולתם \ יְכׇלְתֶּם יכולתן \ יְכׇלְתֶּן
third יכול \ יָכֹל יָכְלָה יָכְלוּ
present יָכוֹל יְכוֹלָה יְכוֹלִים יְכוֹלוֹת
future first אוּכַל נוּכַל
second תּוּכַל תּוּכְלִי תּוּכְלוּ תּוּכַלְנָה1
third יוּכַל תּוּכַל יוּכְלוּ תּוּכַלְנָה1
imperative – – – –1

1 Rare in Modern Hebrew.

Derived terms

References

  1. ^ Huehnergard, J., & Olyan, S. M. (2013). The Etymology of Hebrew and Aramaic Ykl ‘to be able’. Journal of Semitic Studies, 58(1), 13-19.

Anagrams

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